In Trump era, California is the new Texas. We couldn't be prouder. [Editorial]

A protester waves a Texas flag and anti-immigration signs during a 2014 protest against illegally immigrants in Conroe, Texas.

Photo: Jason Fochtman, Photographer / AP

Who knew Californians, to whom Texas is so often a Howard Hawks caricature to ridicule and be confounded by, were so eager to adopt one of our most cherished traditions?

And yet in this age of Donald Trump, California — the Democratic crown jewel of the Electoral College — has transformed itself into the Union’s most boastful defender of states’ rights. Texans should be so darn impressed we just may blush.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions in early March announced that the Department of Justice was suing California over three “sanctuary” laws its legislators passed in 2017 that limit the ability of state officials to help enforce federal immigration law.

Sessions called California lawmakers insubordinate and described the laws as an effort to secede from federal jurisdiction. California Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, retorted that Sessions’ remarks were a political stunt and said it was rich to be lectured on secession by an Alabamian.

And just like that, one of the largest and most influential states was ready to spar with the federal government over sovereignty.

Sound familiar? It should. After eight years of needling the Obama administration, Texas has officially passed the states-rights-champion baton to California.

Federalism — the balance of power between the national government and the states — has been a contentious issue since the Constitution was adopted. While the power of the federal government has generally grown over time, especially since the Civil War, states still wrestle with Washington over a host of issues.

And when done in good faith, this is a good thing. Lawsuits from states test, and sometimes check, the power of the federal government. This tug-of-war also plays out between city and state governments, like Houston’s ongoing tussles with Austin over property taxes, education and Hurricane Harvey recovery.

Texas sued the Obama administration at least 48 times, according to a database compiled by the Texas Tribune. The issues ranged from the hyper-local — like a Red River land dispute and fight over red snapper fishing limits — to those with national implications, like a failed effort to convince the Supreme Court that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional.

Some of these suits are little more than politically motivated rabblerousing, like Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s quixotic effort to deny a Texas same-sex couple marriage benefits after the Supreme Court had already settled the issue and his harebrained attempt to assert Texas could keep the federal government from resettling Syrian refugees in the state.

His predecessor, Greg Abbott, performed a tough act for Paxton to follow by often saying of his job: “I go into the office in the morning, I sue Barack Obama, and then I go home.” California’s leaders would be wise to avoid picking meaningless fights just to brag they can stand up to President Trump.

The fight over California’s sanctuary laws is one of the important battles. As the Los Angeles Times wrote in an editorial, the state should welcome the federal suit — the newspaper predicts the courts will “side with California on most if not all of the legal issues Sessions’ lawsuit raises.” This would deal a blow to the Trump administration and embolden other states to adopt similar laws.

So would efforts by California, whose economy accounts for about 14 percent of the country’s GDP, to follow international carbon reduction initiatives like the Paris climate agreement that the Trump administration has withdrawn from. And just three days ago, California sued the Trump Administration over its plans to ask about citizenship on the 2020 census, which could leave immigrants vastly under-counted.

Texans should be flattered Californians have — though they may be loath to admit it — stolen a page from the Lone Star playbook in offering a full-throated defense of federalism. We encourage them to stay away from fights built on political expediency, of which our state has seen all too many, and stick to good-faith disagreements.

So in that vein, we owe a tip of the hat to our World Series-losing, regulation-loving, West Coast compatriots. When a Democrat re-enters the White House, we’re sure Texas politicos will be glad to take back the reins.